Happy Cinco de Mayo!

 

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo the kids at the Boys and Girls Club made homemade pinatas and sombreros!

 



Practice Courage

When I wake up every morning I look at a sign posted above my mirror.  This sign says ‘what if we practiced courage every single day?’  I like this quote because we often do not consider the courage it takes for some people to just live their daily lives.  As an elite athlete it takes courage to believe in a dream that only a select few will ever accomplish.  It takes courage to put your life on hold and risk not being delivered the result you desire.  It takes courage to overcome the fear of failing.  And as everyone cheering at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday learned, it also takes courage to jump into the fire when everyone is running out.   

As the runners of the Boston Marathon huddled up preparing to start their race many friends and family stood to celebrate the courage it took each of these athletes to set out to accomplish a goal.  I am sure they did not know that when they woke up that morning they would also be practicing courage. 

Carlos Arrendondo’s story, to me, is one of the more touching examples of humanity.  Carlos, a Costa Rican immigrant who himself fought for his own life 8 years ago, had the courage to overcome any fear he may have had for his own well-being and jumped into action.  He helped tear down fences and barricades at the Boston Marathon.  His efforts allowed emergency responders access to many of the victims and then he himself turned into a medical provider helping save the life of a perfect stranger.

This is just one many stories of people acting with valor and courage.  When a country and a community goes through a tragic event athletics is an avenue that brings people together and also brings hope and happiness.  This is why I love sports so much.  It is a way people can relate and hope can be brought to a community and nation when it is in need.  The Boston Red Soxs played more than just a game at Fenway Park on Friday night.  They courageously took the field and played for an entire town and country in mourning.  They played for every single person affected by the tragic events on Monday. 

Carlos and the Red Sox showed courage in their own ways, but for some people courage is simply getting out of bed in the morning.  It is not the magnitude of the event that determines a courageous person, but instead it is a matter of seizing an opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and do the unexpected.

This past week I visited Mrs. Weaver’s class in my hometown Chico, California.  I love having the opportunity to go to her class.  Her students are always very well behaved and interested in what I have to say to them.  This time we talked about setting goals and mapping out a plan to accomplish those goals.  Her students shared with me the goals they have and what they want to be when they grow up.  I urged them to write them down, so they can remind themselves of these goals each day as they work towards them.  This is something I have done each of my athletic seasons and will soon be something I will be do when I begin another career.  Thank you Mrs. Weaver!

Training for the Brain

Many times I speak to various schools and organizations.  My objective is to encourage the audience to dream big and find an avenue to execute any crazy goal they may have.  Based off my experience I recognize that some of these goals may be unorthodox, but this does not mean they are unreachable.  Last week I had the opportunity to visit my former teammate, Julie.  I was able to sit in on a few of her classes and see the incredible things her and her classmates are working to accomplish.  I found myself being the one to leave Elon Law inspired. 

There are many aspects of Law school students and Olympic Athletes that can be paralleled.  Both are working in a largely competitive environment and are doing what it takes to be the best in their respective fields.  An Olympic Athlete will make sure they are getting enough rest, eating the right foods and being smart about their training so that they may have an edge on their competition, which in many cases are their teammates.  In Law School it seems to be very similar.  Each student is working to push themselves and ultimately wish to out perform other students in their class.  Law school is not only competitive, but it is also requires time management and the ability to work as a team just as being a competitive athlete does. 

I was mostly impressed by Julie and her ability to manage caring for her 2 and ½ year old daughter while attending Law School.  Both of these tasks would be considered a full time job in itself, but combing the two seems merely impossible.  I watched as Julie had late nights and early mornings, so that she could be a combination of super mom and super student.  She has chosen this path so that she may be able to create a better life for her daughter.  It was inspirational to watch her work towards accomplishing both her goals of raising her daughter and becoming a lawyer.  The skills she learned as an elite athlete are skills that she is still using in her life today. 

Thank you to Julie and to Elon Law for inspiring me as I move into another intense competitive season.     

Julie, Jamia and Emily- 2007 season

Thank You Kings!

It was always a special treat going to a Sacramento Kings games when we were young. My family had 3 season tickets about six rows from the floor, which eventually grew to 4 tickets.  I remember during Christmas break being so proud and excited to go to the Kings game with my dad.  I loved to watch Mike Bibby and Chris Weber gracefully move across the floor and hear the crowd explode as they scored point after point.  And of course it was enjoyable watching Vlade Divac with his antics and his infamous “Vlade-flop.”  I even had a chance to watch Michael Jordan in one of his final games in the NBA. Many fond memories have been formed in this arena.

Tonight as I sit with my family watching the Kings once more I can't help but be thankful to the kings organization for allowing us a chance to create family memories. I do not know how long Sacramento will house the Kings, but I do know that Sacramento will always be home to this Kings fan.

Vlade Divac, Elana Meyers and I at the Olympics

Friends in ALL places

As a reflect back on my many years of sport I constantly see one common theme; the creation of Life long friends.  I still have friends from the many years I did gymnastics.  Friends from high school athletics and of course the friends from my UC Davis Track and Field family.

Over the past few years I have utilized my international bobsled friends as an outlet and sound board throughout each season.  We compete directly against each other week in and week out, but a camaraderie between nations is created. I am confident I will still be connected with many of my friends all over the world once this era of my life comes to an end. 

After spending months on the road it was nice to spend time with my friends Emily, who is Canadian and Hanne, who is Swiss, outside of the sport.  My fathers cousin, Coreen, is the head of the American School in London and she was nice enough to allow us to stay with her and explore everything London has to offer.  We did all the typical tourist things that could be crammed into the five days we spent in London.  London is an incredible city and it would take months to adequately comb through.   

Ironically, two of my teammates from UC Davis, one who I also went to High School with, live in London.  They have traveled all over the world and I have had the opportunity to meet up with them in many different locations.  I was able to have a true English pub experience with them watching the England vs. France rugby game this past weekend.  This was quite an experience and one of my favorite parts of the entire trip.  I honestly can not even tell you what the end score of the game was, but it was so refreshing to be around people who I care for from all aspects of my life.  From High School to UC Davis to Bobsled each part of my life was represented with the people in that pub.  There is one thing for sure, I will have many interesting places to visit when I am done sliding and I more life long friends to add to my phone book.  

Sochi! DA!

After a long season and a World Championships that did not go as planned it is exciting to slide the track and explore the new Olympic venue in Sochi, Russia.  It is crazy to think that the games in Vancouver were already three years ago.  I still vividly remember walking in the Opening Ceremony and all the excitement that came with it.  Afterwards I remember lying in bed wide awake with adrenaline.  I thought about the physical pain, the mental angst and the pure grit that got me to that point.  Not one thing about making the Olympic Team in 2010 was easy for me.  I fought with every piece of my being to earn a spot on that team.  As a laid there I thought of all those times and how very worth it all was for that one moment to walk behind our countries flag.  That is when I decided I wanted to try to have those feelings and that experience one more time in Russia.  So, here I am one year out from the games preparing for the fight to earn a spot in Sochi.

When we first landed in Sochi for our World Cup test event there was group of English speaking volunteers that were very excited to have us here.  They were very helpful and I could just feel the pride bursting out of them.  It is very obvious they are ecstatic to have their country be the location of the next Olympic Games.  As we drove from Sochi up the mountains to the location of the bobsled and alpine venues we were shocked by all the construction.  It feels like a town is being created solely for the Olympics.  There is literally a new hotel or new restaurant sprouting up daily.  I can’t help but to think about what will happen to each of these new establishments once the Olympics have come and gone. 

We have now been sliding the 2014 Olympic track for almost a week and are using every run to learn a little more about each aspect of the track.  Sliding a brand new track anywhere is exhilarating.  It is a combination of utter fear and excitement.  You have no idea what each turn will feel like as put total trust in your drivers experience to get you down safely.  Once the run is complete it feels like something has been accomplished by conquering your fears.  It is probably one of the biggest rushes one can experience. 

Ending the season on this track will help to keep me hungry as I train this summer in hopes of accomplishing another one of my goals of walking behind our flag one more time.

 

Jamie and I at the finish

The movie Cool Runnings playing at the track